Emily Osment – the little sister of Haley Joel Osment, famous as the kid in the Bruce Willis movie The Sixth Sense. Emily is an actress in her own right, having found fame in the Spy Kids movie series before co-starring in the extraordinarily successful Hannah Montana franchise. Like her co-star Miley Cyrus, Emily has turned that opportunity into a music career of her own, curiously one that reaches into the indie or 'alternative' music scene as opposed to the straight pop of most Disney celebrities. Her debut CD is forthcoming.

Emily Litella – a character played by Gilda Radner on Saturday Night Live. SNL has always featured a news segment called “Weekend Update”. In the early years, Weekend Update was hosted by Chevy Chase or Jane Curtin and often featured a correspondent named 'Emily Litella'. Emily was an elderly character with hearing difficulty. Her tirades would inevitably be based entirely on a misunderstanding of the intended topic. For example discussion on the 'death penalty' would turn into a tirade on the concept of a 'deaf penalty', saying “Deaf people have enough problems as it is!” Inevitably Litella's tirade would be interrupted in full flow by the anchor, who would loudly insist on the actual topic, leaving Litella to meekly state her catch-phrase, “Never mind.”

Emily Eyefinger – the star of a series of books written by Australian author Duncan Ball. Emily has an eye on her finger, which she uses to solve mysteries and help friends. The series is designed for kids aged 6 and up and was begun in 1997.

Emily Hobhouse – a campaigner for human rights back when such a concept barely existed. Hobhouse was born in Cornwall in England in 1860 and found herself in South Africa during the second Boer War fought between Great Britain and two breakaway republics in South Africa. The conditions of the locals during this war were atrocious, both in the concentration camps set up throughout South Africa by the British and in the general populace of the Boer (Dutch-speaking) people. Hobhouse's efforts to publicise these conditions and to bring aid to the victims brought her fame and respect. She was also a vigourous campaigner against World War I.

Emily Carr: considered by many to be a 'Canadian icon', Emily Carr was a painter and a writer who worked in British Columbia and was famed for her paintings of nature and of native Canadian life. In many ways, the international success of her paintings introduced the northern Pacific coast of North America to much of the rest of the world. A 'late bloomer' whose significant works of art all occurred after she was 57 years of age, Emily Carr was never a member of Canada's famed “Group of Seven” artist society but was closely associated with it. Successful at a time when few women had such opportunities, Carr is also seen as a 'darling of the women's movement'.

Emily Kngwarreye – an Australian aboriginal artist who only started painting in her 80s. Emily lived in the “Utopia” community, an aboriginal community in Northern Territory, Australia, where there was a booming art culture. Emily's own works, many of which were inspired by the yam, gathered the most attention. Ultimately, Emily's commercial success carried the whole Utopia community financially, but bright unwanted attention to the elderly Emily, who was often exploited as a primitive, elderly naif. She died in 1996.

Emily the Engine – one of the main train engines featured on the children's TV show “Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends”. Narrated by Ringo Starr and George Carlin among others, “Thomas the Tank Engine” is a highly successful kids' show known in North America as “Shining Time Station” and following the exploits of a number of train engines. The show had received allegations of sexism, in that all of the engines (the machines with power) were male, while all of the coaches were female. Thus, in the seventh season, the producers added a female train engine to the main cast. This was Emily.

Emily Lau Wai-Hing – a politician active in politics in Hong Kong since 1991. She started in public life as a journalist before moving to politics. She has played an active role as a supporter for Taiwanese self-determination and for further democratization of China itself.

Emily Deschanel – the star of the TV show Bones, Emily is a Los Angeles-born actress who appears in, among other things, Rose Red, Cold Mountain and My Sister's Keeper. Her starring role in the forensic drama Bones is by far her most famous effort. Emily comes from a show-business family, with a father, a mother and a sister (Zooey) all working in Hollywood. She's also a member of PETA and an outspoken supporter of animal rights.

Emily Brontë – one of three famous author sisters who wrote poems and novels in Victorian England. Emily only wrote one novel, but it was justifiably famous: Wuthering Heights, initially credited to the male pseudonym Ellis Bell. The novel was not critically well-received when first released but has since gained status as the best of the Brontë sisters' works, with an unorthodox narrative approach that made it unique in its day. It also spawned a hit single by Kate Bush, many many years later.

Welcome to a site devoted to one single topic: the name Emily. If you have this name, or if you're thinking of giving it to your daughter, here's an ongoing list of famous namesakes, both real and fictional.